Italy may turn down migrants unless EU does more to help

ITALY has threatened to pull out of the European Union’s search and rescue mission in the Mediterranean unless other EU countries agree to allow rescued migrants to land at their ports rather than just Italian ones.

Matteo Salvini, the interior minister, said Rome was “assessing” whether to continue with the anti-trafficking Operation Sophia after a meeting of EU defence ministers in Vienna.

Under Sophia’s rules, all rescued migrants are taken to Italian ports – but Italy’s coalition government has demanded more support from other EU countries after bearing the brunt of the 2015 migration crisis.

After a day of talks, no agreement was reached on changing the landing rules of Operation Sophia.

“I feel disappointed, because I’ve seen that Europe is not here,” Elisabetta Trenta, Italy’s defence minister, said after the meeting.

Despite migrant arrivals being far lower than in previous years, migration has become a hugely divisive issue in the EU.

Southern European countries complain they have been left to bear the brunt of the crisis.

At the same time, eastern European countries have refused to accept mandatory migrant resettlement quotas which would redistribute migrants from Italy and Greece across the bloc.

Mr Salvini yesterday lashed out at the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who had criticised him for turning away migrant boats.

“Macron should have the good taste to keep quiet and not give lectures to the Italians,” he said after accusing France of pushing back more than 40,000 migrants to Italy last year.